Courtyard garden design for enclosed spaces.

Courtyard garden design makes the most of a small, enclosed space – often shaded by walls, but sheltered and warm because of them. The aim is a lush, green, layered room: climbers softening the walls, bold foliage filling the corners, and a focal point that draws the eye. Get it right and a tiny courtyard feels like the best room in the house.

Garden Design App reads a photo of your real courtyard and redesigns the planting to suit it, keeping your walls, paving and any existing features where they are – so the scheme fits the exact space and light you have.

Enclosed courtyards are usually shadier and more sheltered than open gardens, so the planting leans on lush foliage, evergreen structure, scented climbers and a few shade-loving flowers for lift. The planting plan names the full list, with how big each grows and where each one goes.

When you find a design you love, unlock its professional planting plan: every plant named, how many of each, exactly where it goes, and a month-by-month flowering calendar so your courtyard looks good all year.

Professional garden designers often charge over £1,000 for this. Your first design is free, so you can see your own garden reimagined before you spend anything.

Courtyards are usually shaded by the walls that make them, and that shade is nearly always dry, because the walls keep the rain off too. The dry shade planting guide covers what genuinely copes.

Enclosed spaces bounce light around, which is why a white and cream scheme works so well in one and why it still reads at dusk.